


Stories That Came to Town

by Runespoor



Category: Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine (RPG)
Genre: Gen, M/M, The power of friendship, feelings are complicated, turning into a snake never helps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 10:57:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17202206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runespoor/pseuds/Runespoor
Summary: Ficlets featuring the Glass-Maker's Dragon cast, and a flexible approach to canon.born on the three-sentence ficathon; most of them didn't even try to comply to the three-sentence limit.





	1. "Don't turn into a snake. It never helps."

Chuubo considered. 

He was usually quite good about not turning into a snake, and certainly turning into a giant snake had never seemed that useful (or practical, or, well, something that he cared to explore a lot) until now. 

Usually the Wishing Machine more than did the trick, and whatever trouble the Wishing Machine could cause, it was always _funny_ trouble, not at all the sort you'd get from turning into a snake, but then again, usually he wasn't trying to communicate with a swarm of angry snakes. 

Though - were they angry?

They could as easily be excited, or afraid, or-- if only Seizhi were here! Chuubo's best friend would have known - being able to talk to animals was such a _sweet_ power - but he'd begged the afternoon off, something about his brother insisting upon spending quality time together? (Chuubo spared a moment of envy - _Chuubo_ 's brother wasn't an underground tournament luchador - and made a note of having the Wishing Machine give Chuubo's sibling the powers of an underground tournament luchador for a couple days at a later time.)

The snakes hissed and wriggled in an enticing, almost hypnotic fashion. If only Chuubo could somehow communicate with them, if he could speak their language, he would surely understand... 

What was turning into a snake once, in the grand scheme of things? Chuubo was a pretty ordinary kid, all things considered - aside from the Wishing Machine, of course - turning into a snake _once_ really shouldn't be that big of a deal? 

He'd been a giant snake for most of his existence, after all, before deciding he'd rather be an ordinary boy. He wouldn't make any beginner's mistakes or anything! 

It would be easy to turn back, back into a snake. 

And then he'd just need to snap back to being a boy again if he wanted to! 

(A distant part of Chuubo wanted to argue that it had been far from so easy the first time around, but its protestations were shushed, lost into cotton-silence - all the more easily because Chuubo always tried to avoid acknowledging his past existence if he could help it. 

He'd much rather be a boy, an average, kinda goofy, kinda happy-go-lucky ordinary boy, who'd tinkered into building a Wishing Machine.

He'd much rather...)

But if he could just know what the snakes wanted...

Chuubo shook himself, looked away from the snakes, and started to make a Wish.


	2. it NEVER helps!

Seizhi whimpers. “Please tell me you didn’t turn into a giant snake,” he begs. 

“Oh, of course not ! It never helps,” Chuubo nods sagely, as though he hadn’t just shaved off two years of Seizhi’s life expectancy. 

Although… how does that work ? Seizhi’s not exactly, well, _real_. Is his lifespan linked to Chuubo’s ? Is he – Chuubo wished him into being, right, so is he _immortal_ ? The only thing he knows for sure is that he can’t be wished into _non_ -existence. That fight he and Chuubo had last month was at least good for proving that. Boy, that wasn’t a fun time.

And if something happened to Chuubo…

Seizhi’s not sure if it’s selfishness or being Chuubo’s Best Friend that drives a spike of icy dread down his spine at the thought. God, Chuubo needs to be more careful.

Still, it’s fine. 

(Seizhi forces a breath through clenched lungs, and physically makes himself look Chuubo up and down. Chuubo looks basically okay, aside from the grass stains on his jeans, and those are a lost cause.) 

Chuubo’s fine. 

Chuubo doesn’t notice Seizhi hyperventilating himself into near catatonia, or is kind enough to pretend not to, bless him. 

Which makes sense; most of Seizhi’s existence since he realised he’s a Fake Person has been spent high-key worrying, about stuff like homework and being late and pretending really hard to have a lifetime supply of totally normal real-person life experiences and also pretending really hard he’s not worried about Chuubo learning his best friend is a fake! The former stuff he also does on Chuubo’s behalf, as part of his job as Chuubo’s best friend, and Chuubo takes it in stride. 

It’s a system. Chuubo provides the fun and Seizhi provides the freak-outs.

“So what happened ?” Seizhi asks, in an attempt to stall his racing heart, and also because Chuubo’s shenanigans are good for a laugh, looking back.

Seizhi’s privately betting on Leonardo showing up to drive the point home of how much he can’t stand Chuubo, and solving the problem to show Chuubo up, but he’s keeping his suspicions to himself for now.

“I wished I could talk to snakes,” Chuubo says, candidly. 

_Oh_ , Seizhi thinks. _Like me_. He’s suddenly feeling very small and very alone, more alone than he’s ever felt. The summer breeze still ruffles warmly through his hair, but he only feels cold – like in his nightmares about non-existence, small and unable to scream, frozen in a realm of nightmares in Outer Space.

“Like you!” Chuubo beams. “And turned out they were trying to hypnotize me into _reverting_ , so, you know, I left.”

“Right,” Seizhi acquiesces. These things happen to Chuubo. Then the part of his brain that’s not stuck on worrying about being replaced catches up. “Wait, so the snakes are still in Miramie’s basement ? You didn’t, like, talk them down, or, or wish they didn’t try to hypnotize people ?”

Chuubo does a little shrug-and-shaking-of-his-head when Seizhi says the W-word. “It didn’t feel like it would work right?...”

Seizhi nods.

“I thought I’d better ask you,” Chuubo continues. “You’re the one who's good at making friends.”


	3. "dragons live forever, but not so little boys"

"Wasn't that the point, Chuubo?" the Headmaster muses, in a soft, cold voice; and with every word he says, his appearance shimmers away into wisps, until Death is standing in his place - finally divested of away of his costume of flesh, done with playing games at last. 

"You were immortal once - maybe you still are! At least, you would be if you returned to your previous form, that is - but you chose to become an ordinary boy, with barely a few tricks to your name, and so you lived as an ordinary boy in that town. You wanted to experience how humans live, did you not? And your curiosity was never sated; your experience never over." 

He pauses. The sudden crash of shattering glass from the room where Chuubo’s friends are locked doesn’t seem to worry him, and... Chuubo hates to think ill of his friends, but it's _probably not_ \- Natalia's out cold, there's no animal for Seizhi to call for help, and Leonardo can barely get along with any of them on the best day, much less days where they’re facing his ex-mentor.

"It is no use to struggle, you should have told your friends. But," Death continues magnanimously, "I am willing to help you complete your experience. I am going to kill you, Chuubo; and then you will know."

Chuubo swallows, his throat suddenly dry. 

“You’re wrong!” he says, more bravely than he feels - he’s just an ordinary boy, not the hero of some tale - and whatever past existence he might have discarded to become this ordinary boy, giant snake, river dragon, or dragon god of screams and flames, it won’t be of help. It never is.

“I became a boy so I would have friends!”

It echoes defiantly, as Death arches the Headmaster’s eyebrow. “Oh?”

The door crashes open as Chuubo tries desperately to stop being lost in the infinity of Death’s orbits, dark, full of stars, and hypnotizing - and in burst his friends, spear-headed by a shouting Leonardo. 

“Get _away_ from him!”

“ _Oh_ ,” Death repeats darkly.

Natalia strides past Chuubo, her hair whipping like a banner, Leonardo on her heels - "Get _away_ ," Leonardo repeats, snarling.

Neither of them look at their best - there are tiny scratches gleaming with droplets of blood criss-crossing Natalia's face, and the hems of Leonardo's cuffs are badly singed - but they both stand tall; tall enough that Chuubo could shrink back and hide into their shadow, and Death wouldn't see him anymore.

"Chuubo! You're alright?" Seizhi throws himself on his knees next to Chuubo, hands hovering - fully ready to call upon every last memory of the first-aid class they attended last semester - Chuubo's main take-away from the class was making friends with Miramie, Seizhi was the one who'd really got the stuff. Seizhi was totally against the idea of coming to Bleak Academy in the first place, and yet here he is-- "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Chuubo's not really sure, but that seems like a minor thing. Chuubo shakes himself and tries to stand again. "I--yeah, I am... But, you guys..."

Seizhi yelps. "Don't move around so much! You've got a concussion!... I'm pretty sure!"

"Probably," Chuubo agrees; try as he might, he can't get enough of a focus that he can follow what Natalia and Leonardo are telling to the Headmaster - and that's bad, he really should focus on that - he wavers--

"Chuubo, are you going to faint on me?" Seizhi's voice sounds affronted. "I _told_ you not to sta--"

"Guys," Chuubo interrupts, "thanks."

_Thank you for coming to help me._

Death makes a disgusted noise, but what Chuubo carries into the darkness that claims him is the shadow of Natalia's smile as she glances back, and the twitch of Leonardo's shoulders before he squares them to face the Headmaster, and Seizhi's arms catching him before he touches the ground.

(" _This needs to stop_ ", Natalia says;

" _You have come to the right place, then, child_ ", Death says, with vast gestures of the sleeves. " _Has my former pupil also come to enroll back?_ "

Leonardo sucks a breath. " _No,_ " he says shortly. His arms are snaking around to wrap around himself, like a hug or a shield. Death sizes him up with a look of amusement.

" _Ah, a shame. You could have been more than merely adequate._ "

This isn't going as well as it could; the Headmaster of Bleak Academy is regrouping, and Natalia and Leonardo are...

losing momentum.

"Guys," Chuubo's voice breaks through the white noise. " _Thanks._ "

They only catch a glimpse of him, before his eyes roll back into his head and he slumps down again and Seizhi fairly screeches, but it's enough. 

Natalia breathes; Leonardo relaxes.

And Death... 

Death looks maybe a little warmer.)


	4. the only person who is allowed to defeat you is me!

"The Wish-Granting Engine is broken?" Leonardo couldn’t believe his ears.

Mutely, Chuubo nodded. 

Leonardo frowned. At another time, he’d have crowed and claimed for all to hear that _this_ was the proof that his own Nightmare Science was superior by far! At no point had _his_ glorious inventions ever done anything so mundane as to _stop working_. 

But this… That Chuubo’s machine stopped working after Chuubo’s heart had been tampered with by Death, he, the Headmaster of Bleak Academy himself, and Leonardo’s former mentor, filled Leonardo with a sense of… frustration. Dread?... _Frustration!_ And after Chuubo’s daring rescue by Leonardo (cameoing Chuubo’s friends, amongst whom Leonardo definitely shouldn’t be counted), too.

Chuubo, Leonardo couldn’t help but notice, looked crestfallen. His chin dipped on his chest as though he’d just learned his favorite tayiaki flavor was being discontinued. By making Chuubo unable to call upon that _silly toy_ , the Wish-Granting Engine, the Headmaster had struck Chuubo worse than Leonardo had ever been able to.

This would not do, Leonardo decided.

"Fear not!" Leonardo declared. "I, me, I, the great Leonardo de Montreal, will see that your _children's toy_ works just as well as it ever did – no, even better! The Wish-Granting Engine will be fixed to the utmost of my capacity and its powers will surpass everything you ever dreamed !"

Surprisingly, Chuubo failed to gape in adoration at Leonardo’s selflessness. (He wasn’t being selfless, he reminded himself: he wanted the Engine to work so he could prove to Chuubo his own Nightmare inventions were better. If Chuubo wasn’t impressed, it just went to show he was a little less dumb than he'd been back when Leonardo was his friend. This was a good thing, Leonardo told himself firmly.)

"…I don’t _thiiiiink_ Nightmare Science should be used on the Wish-Granting Engine," Chuubo said.

Leonardo scoffed. "Obviously you misunderstand the full range of my genius."

Chuubo’s eyebrows rose, and if Chuubo acting ironical wasn’t a serious sign that up was down and they were careening off the rails and into seriously uncharted territory, Leonardo didn’t know what would be. For the sake of his sanity (dignity ?) he ignored it.

"I’m going to fix it by hand, dumbass," he explained, "and you’re gonna help me, I don’t know how you fixed up your thingamajig in the first place."

Chuubo’s lips quirked, and Leonardo’s stomach did its usual flip-flopping of 'urgh when am I going to Show Chuubo up'. _Down, stomach. We are going to fix the Wish-Granting Engine, and that’ll definitely show him this time!_

"Thanks, Leo. That means a lot to me."

For some reason Leonardo’s cheeks picked this moment to go on fire - only metaphorically, but unpleasant enough. 

Leonardo turned away, buysing himself with looking for Chuubo’s tools through the capharnaum that was his basement. 

"Yeah, whatever. Just as long you don’t forget I'm the one who's your rival here," he grumbled.


	5. feel no glory, feel no pain.

When he was younger, Leonardo took his heart out of his chest, and put it in the sky – it’s not a real Sun, and it’s not as good the one that died, but good enough, until the heir of the sun is grown enough to take her throne. Leonardo’s heartless, now; in the sky, his heart still burns, but he can’t feel it.

When he looks at Chuubo, the sun shines brighter, and Leonardo tells himself he’s glad no-one knows it’s his heart up there.


End file.
